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The Questers: Blazing Requiem
The Questers: Blazing Requiem is a short, one chapter story set following the events of Above the Most Broken Clouds. Story Black. Everywhere she looked, black. Black suits and blazers and dresses and ties and cars parked around the gate. The water looked black over the lake, without the sun to give it color. The clouds had overcast the sky, so there wasn't even moonlight or starlight to light the world for any of them, just torches, giving everything an almost Halloween look. It was strangely fitting, the death of the one who wore black all the damn time would be the one to make everyone else don the color. Gods, that's dark... She thought to herself. All the lights were off, as well, and she was left there, staring out the window at the canoe sitting at the docks, only visible because of a torch planted near it. She let out a long sigh and sat down in the kitchen, where a small sheet of paper lay. He'd left no will or testament behind, but Zack Johnson had proven very particular about one thing. He had extremely specific wishes for his funeral, should he ever die on a mission or a quest. They'd all laughed at the idea when they learned about it, but now, there it was, sitting on the table, an excruciating reminder of his apparent foresight. She picked it up and stared at it, a sad smile coming over her face at the verbatim Zack had elected to use in this miniature will. The smile slowly faded as she realized it wasn't Zack's voice she was hearing in her head, it was her own. Gods...have I already forgotten what you sounded like? She thought to herself and looked away from it. There was a knock on the door, and she got up and answered it. "Hey Nat..." Kyra said to her. "Hey." Natalie replied. "Guess we should start." "Yeah." Kyra sighed, and the two walked in silence over to a setup around a small stage with a podium that would make your voice heard by all in attendance. People were sitting and standing around the stage, some right beside it, others as far back as the front step of their cabin. Natalie had a feeling Zack wouldn't care too much about that, so she didn't get annoyed at them not coming all the way over. As they grew closer, they could hear the boombox that Zack had wanted set up, playing a playlist that he himself had created just in case of his death. "Damn..." Kyra muttered. "Who'd have thought Slipknot would make me cry..." She said and wiped her eyes. Natalie draped an arm over her shoulders and kept it there until they reached one of the front rows of the attendance, where Annie and Ava sat on chairs, and Michael sat in his wheelchair. "You sure you want to perform?" Natalie asked. "Yeah. I'll be fine." Kyra said. "He didn't put it on that list of his but I feel like he'd like it." "Knock em dead, then." Natalie said and sat down next to Ava, who was staring at the ground. Natalie reached out and entwined her hand around Ava's and gave it a squeeze. Ava squeezed back, but it was such a feeble attempt at a squeeze that Natalie knew she wasn't going to make it through the funeral without breaking down. Natalie looked around the crowd and saw that the entire Heroes Organization had come down from Olympus for the funeral. She made eye contact with Matt Parker and nodded some kind of gratitude for their coming. She didn't know exactly what she was trying to convey, but he seemed to understand, and he nodded back. Eventually, the last song on Zack's playlist (Never Too Late by Three Days Grace) had finished, Natalie rose from her chair and went up to the podium on the stage. Unlike the rest of the demigods who had perished in the second battle for New York, who had had their shrouds burned the previous day in a ceremony primarily run by Chiron, Zack had requested that the other Questers handle the orchestrating of his funeral. She stood behind the podium and a hush came over the crowd. "If there's one thing that everybody who knew him knew about him, it was that everyone who knew him had at least one Zack Johnson story where he did something so unbelievably outlandish, crazy, or flat out dumb, that you'd remember that story for a long, long time." She paused a moment as the crowd who had gathered seemed to agree. "The first real Zack Johnson story I experienced was a little after we'd formed our little crew, a couple days after he and Ava became a thing. We were sparring in the arena in the afternoon, and as usual he was beating me into the ground, when Mrs. O'Leary wakes up and barks at us. Now, that's a surprise, believe me, but he literally stopped, threw a spear into the wall of the arena, and used it as a stepping stone to climb the wall and get out of there. And that's how I found out he was afraid of dogs." A light chuckle went through the crowd and Natalie smiled sadly. "That was the first of who knows how many stories he gave me. I think that's one of the things I'm going to miss the most about him. His weird ability to turn every little situation into something that could be a story someday. I don't think anybody is ever going to be used to the fact that we aren't going to get anymore stories from him, be them about how he called his girlfriend's dad a twat to his face or the time he jumped off a flying pegasus into a drakon, the idea that all stories come to an end is something that he just didn't agree with, and he always wanted to give everyone more stories." She paused for a moment and took a breath. "But now, we're here to give his story as good an ending as we possibly can, in the way that, he very painstakingly explained in a three ring binder, he would have wanted." Natalie stepped off the stage and slipped over to Michael, who she helped wheel up and onto the stage. The podium shrunk down to accommodate the fact he was permanently sitting. He wheeled himself over to the podium and accidentally bumped into it. "Ouch, bumped my toe." He attempted to joke, getting a nervous laugh from some of the people who knew him closest. "A lot of people know Zack for the...insanity that he often exhibited in front of people, or the way he'd jump headlong into a fight with not even twelve percent of a plan in his head. Me, I knew him from the late night musings about life, the advice he'd give me when I was down, the things he'd say and do for someone he cared about, and how he loved all of his friends so unconditionally it was dangerous, and he didn't care if it was or not." "Zack came to us not rescued by any Satyr or older demigod. No, he rode in on a motorcycle with six or seven monsters chasing him, and he was twelve. You'd think that with an entrance like that he was going to be an immediate celebrity around here, but he didn't really want that. Instead of going and hanging out with Aphrodite's girls (no offense, ladies) he found me and made friends with me instead. I mean, it wasn't long before he got a reputation as the rockstar of camp, as I'm sure we'll all remember the morning he woke us up with Pantera..." A laugh went through the crowd as everyone nodded. "But even with those moments of chaos that he reveled in, he was always there for someone when they were in their darkest of places and he wanted to pull them out. One of the last times he did that for me, he said something that made a lot of sense then, and it does now, too. He told me 'the only way I stay motivated is by embracing your anger and hatred towards everything in the world and doing well in life purely just to spite everyone else.' And you know, that's an enticing thing, really." The audience laughed openly at that, and Michael let them before continuing. "He came to us from a not exactly stellar life. If there was something good that came of that, it was that he bonded with the people he grew close to here and he treated them like his true family, because at the end of the day, we were. Honestly, he's probably really angry in Elysium right now, looking for someone who knows who Rey's parents are in Star Wars, or looking for a relative of a Marvel Exec to ask the plot of civil war. But, if there's one solace we can find now, it's that if he had to choose a way to go, it'd be fighting to defend that family he found, because of that caring he had for us and this entire camp and demigod world." Michael wheeled himself down to the ramp at the back of the stage and Natalie helped wheel him through the grass back into place near Ava, Kyra, and Annie. Kyra glanced at Natalie, took a deep breath, and stood up. She walked around to the back of the stage and pulled out a stool from the ground, as well as an acoustic guitar. She sat down on the stool and played a quick chord to see if the guitar was tuned. "Can you all hear me?" She asked the crowd, as she wasn't sitting behind the podium. Everyone nodded, and she played another chord. "Awesome. So, this wasn't in Zack's binder of depressive foresight, but I wanted to do it anyway. Before I do though, I know that everyone here has a lot of brothers and sisters, like, a lot. Even then though, a lot of the time it may just seem like their friends that you know, right? And on the opposite end of that, some other kids with no parental relation may be the closest family some of us have. With that said, Zack was my big brother, and he was the best big brother I could have ever asked for. So, this song was one he'd put on when he couldn't get his feelings out by punching things or something similar, this was kind of his sad song. And now it's mine. This one's going down to you, bro." She said and pointed at the ground, in the direction of the Underworld. She closed her eyes and started playing a simple guitar riff, maybe two or three notes used at the most. It was quiet and repeating, but the somber tone of it let everyone in attendance know what was about to come. After a few repeats, she started singing. "Underneath the bridge, the tarp has sprung a leak, and the animals I've trapped have all become my pets, and I'm living off of grass, and the drippins' from the ceiling. It's ok to eat fish, cuz' they don't have any feelings..." "Something in the way." She sang out, louder this time, playing chords now. "Mmmhmm, something in the way, yeah, mmmhmm..." She stopped and repeated the first verse, eyes open now, but blinking rapidly. Her voice was a little shakier now, by the time she returned to the chorus, there were a couple of tears running down her face. "Something in the way-" She sang, her voice cracking slightly, as she entered the final few notes and chords of the song. "Mmmhmmm..." She leaned back on the stool and stared out at the crowd for a moment. It looked like she was staring beyond them, into some other world nobody else was privy to, and then she stood up and placed the stool and guitar behind the stage and she returned to her seat. Natalie looked around at the crowd and saw several people were crying now, including Rachel from the Heroes Organization. She tried to send a supportive look her way, but Ava nudged her hand and her head snapped around to look at her. The look on Ava's face said it all, she needed Natalie up on that stage with her, she didn't think she could make it on her own. Natalie nodded and rose up with her. The two walked up and onto the stage, and Ava took her place behind the podium, Natalie standing to her right, a couple steps behind her. Natalie took one look at Ava just before she began to speak, and she knew that she'd have to take over for her soon. "When I he-heard it, I really-" She stopped abruptly, her head drooping slightly, and Natalie noticed Maya cover her mouth and start to cry in the crowd. Natalie took two steps forward and put a hand on Ava's shoulder. Ava looked over with shining eyes, and Natalie nodded, understanding. Ava stepped back and Natalie took her place behind the podium and she glanced at the written notes Ava had left for her, just in case the current situation came to be. "When I heard it, I really didn't believe my powers. I actually thought it was a malfunction, because in no reality did I ever really believe it was even remotely in the realm of possibility that Zack could ever die. That was the effect he had on people, and it wasn't even a confidence thing or an aura of invincibility, he was just too damn stubborn for it to ever really seem possible." Natalie paused and glanced at Ava, who was covering her mouth with one hand, her elbow propped up by her other hand. She returned her gaze to the crowd and glanced at the notes again. "That was one of the million things I'm going to miss about him. It's honestly impossible to pick one, but maybe that's the one to pick. He gave me so much worth missing and so much to cherish the memory of, no matter how many times I wanted to throw a shoe at him or how many times he actually threw a shoe at me." Natalie took a moment to glance at Ava, who hadn't moved, but was still crying. "If there's one thing I think he'd want now, he'd probably want us to keep fighting, to not stop throwing punches at life no matter what life says. He'd want us to, because that was what he did right up until the end, and I think he'd just say 'someone else punch life for me, I'm tired' and would fall asleep after that." The crowd chuckled slightly. "So I guess, enjoy that rest Zack, you earned it, and we'll see you in a bit. We'll bring you some funny stories when we get there." Natalie finished and wiped her own eyes as Ava slipped off the podium and returned to her seat. "We invite you to join us at the docks, where we will be burning the shroud in the most Zack way possible. Thank you." Natalie said and returned to Ava and the others, who were rising from their seats as the crowd did too. They walked through the camp, wiping tears from their eyes, Kyra pushing Michael's wheelchair through the rougher terrain, and Natalie holding Ava's hand. They reached the docks and waited ten minutes as the crowd gathered behind them. Annie walked over to them and let out a long, sigh. Her eyes were red and puffy, but there were no tears coming from her now. She nodded at Natalie and Natalie looked over to the crowd and raised her voice. "If anyone would like to say a final goodbye, please approach calmly and do so now." She said. A few children of Ares came up and whispered something to the armor covered body before slipping away. Robin came up briefly, as did Rachel and, stunningly, Cal. After the crowd had finished sending people forward, Michael wheeled himself next to the body, whispered something, and rolled towards the crowd. Kyra said something and sat down at the end of the pier, where another guitar was sitting, and she put it in her lap and waited. Natalie crouched down beside the body and put a hand on the armored chest piece. "Rest easy now, Zack...I'll take care of them." She whispered. "Goodbye." And she stepped back and allowed Ava to say her own goodbye. Ava slipped up beside her and took her hand as Annie crouched down beside the shrouded body. "Good night, love." She said, loud enough for Natalie to hear. "See you when I wake up." She said and stepped away, picking up a bow that was lying on the dock and knocking a single arrow into it. She waited as Natalie closed the shroud, which was lying in a canoe just to the side of the dock, out into the lake. A current seemed to take it further away, and Annie lit the arrow on one of the few torches that lit the pier, and she fired it up into the sky and watched as it rained down onto the shroud, igniting it. For a moment, the world was silent, until Kyra started to play the opening riff to Johnny Cash's song, Hurt. One by one, the crowd dispersed. Annie turned to Natalie and Ava, sighing again. "The Heroes are staying in the big house overnight. If you want, you're welcome to come visit us." "Thanks, Annie." Ava said, and Annie left the dock, followed soon after by Michael and Kyra, who had finished her song. Ava and Natalie stared out at the burning canoe for a while longer until Ava turned to Natalie. "You coming to the Big House?" "Yeah, I'll be there in a little bit." Natalie said and Ava slipped away, leaving her alone on the pier. She waited until the boat had finally vanished from all view, and then she left the dock. She didn't walk to the big house, like she had honestly intended, and she didn't join the others visiting the Heroes. No, she went instead back to her own headquarters, she opened the door and put the coat she'd been wearing on the counter and kicked her shoes to the other side of the kitchen, and she sat down at the kitchen table and looked over at a picture that was hanging on the wall. Ten year old Michael was standing at equal height with the twelve year old Zack, while eleven year old Kyra was sitting on an old tire swing that Zack and Ava had built in the first few months of being Questers. The thirteen year olds, Natalie and Ava, were standing on opposite sides of Kyra, Natalie grinning wide and Ava having something more of a smirk on her face. Zack had Michael in a joking headlock and both were mid laugh. It was the picture that had been taken of them when they had officially become known as The Questers, not just a band of demigods, they were a band of demigods who meant everything they said they could do and did them. How naive we all were... Natalie thought as she stared at the picture. At Zack, so full of life. At Ava, surrounded by all of her friends, not a single hole in her heart from the loss of her best friend. At Kyra, radiant and joyful, not a tear to be seen on her face, her big brother only a few feet from her. At Michael, walking, standing, leaping, fighting, laughing, capable of feeling positive about anything. And at herself, responsible, strong, wise, the unofficial leader of sorts, the one who would lead them out of the darkness. It was everything they should have been as they grew older, and it was everything they weren't anymore. Natalie rose and walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. She looked around the room and saw something that hit her in the stomach a lot harder than she had expected it to. The place was empty. Sure, it had all the same furnishings and had all the same things inside it, but at the same time, it was empty, like it's soul had been stolen, or it's heart ripped out. She realized then that it was all over, everything the group had been, everything the headquarters had been the home of, it was all empty, and nothing could be done to fill it again. But most of all, she just missed her friend. And she lay down on the couch and started to sob.